As we mentioned on Wednesday, Jessa Duggar-Seewald and her husband Ben cover this week’s issue of People Magazine. The cover interview is interesting, if you like reading about Evangelical cults and the rare women trying to break free of said cult’s misogynistic shackles. Jessa and Ben told People that they plan to adopt and that they’re already doing the paperwork for an adoption. This struck me as odd, mostly because Ben and Jessa are both young and presumably healthy, and they both were raised to believe that baby-making is the most important thing for a young family. So why isn’t Jessa pregnant already? They’ve been married for nearly four months and there’s still no pregnancy announcement. Well, Star Magazine has a theory: Jessa is on birth control!! OMG.
With 19 kids, three grandchildren and three in-laws, the Duggar family was bound to get a wild child. Star has learned that Jessa Duggar may be defying her ultraconservative Christian family by secretly using birth control! “Jessa and [husband] Ben [Seewald] are definitely active in the bedroom,” says a source, “so it’s suspicious she hasn’t gotten pregnant yet.”
While Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar believe they should happily accept as many children as God will give them without interfering, sources say Jessa, the most rebellious daughter, is nowhere near ready to be a parent, and is taking the necessary steps to make sure that doesn’t happen. “She wants to enjoy being a wife for a while,” reveals the insider. “She’s not like her siblings. She doesn’t feel any pressure to get pregnant.”
Indeed, Jessa’s sister, Jill, who wed Derick Dillard in June, is expecting a son who was conceived on their honeymoon. In a strange twist, Jim Bob and Michelle have admitted to using birth control at the beginning of their 30-year marriage. But after Michelle became pregnant while on the pill and suffered a miscarriage, the couple blamed the oral contraceptive for “aborting” their baby and have been against it ever since.
But Jessa and Ben seem to be carving their own path away from their restrictive families. “Jessa lived under her father’s rules for her entire life,” a family insider explains. “She would never tells her parents she’s on birth control because she doesn’t want to disappoint them, but she’s making her own rules now. It’s her life and she and Ben will have a child when they decide the time is right.”
First the harlot front-hugs a boy. Then she French kisses him. Then she goes on birth control! What is the world coming to, allowing a young woman to control her own reproductive choices? Doesn’t Jessa know that her religion and political party considers the birth control pill to be “slut pills”???
Meanwhile, People Mag released more of their cover story with Jessa and Ben. This new excerpt – go here to read – includes Jessa and Ben’s marriage advice. Apparently, Ben comes to Jessa when he thinks she’s irritated by something, which is also weird because she isn’t supposed to be irritated by anything unless her husband tells her she’s allowed to be irritated. They also suggest not giving your partner the silent treatment and how to work on a family budget.
Photos courtesy of People Magazine, Jessa’s Facebook.
Given the mess that this family is, and given the way they raise these girls – I have a tiny tinyyyyy glimmer of hope that Jessa/Ben are rebelling just a tiny bit. It might be hypocritical of them – but they’re kind of in a shit position family and fame wise. They might branch out more – or maybe they’ll keep pushing this insane culty lifestyle. Either way – I’m a little happy that she’s not popping out the babies yet.
Pregnancy is irrelevant to me. I want to know if her husband has learned to kiss with an open mouth. Their kissing photos are always uncomfortable, but in the most hilarious way. She looks like she’s ready to make a baby, and he looks like he’s only on page 1 of the instruction manual.
First thing I can think of is what if they have fertility issues? Maybe she doesn’t want to make them public? Maybe she doesn’t know they have fertility issues yet? Maybe they only bone once a month and it’s not when she’s ovulating? Who cares about their BC situation. Lol Now they can go away forever?!
Although they ask for it by putting their lives out there, my impulse about this is, it’s really nobody’s damn business. I don’t like the quiverfull movement but I’m not going to snark about their reproductive choices just because of that. Maybe they are actually reading the blogs and saw some of the criticism about having so many babies when there are children who need loving parents. So adoption would actually be really cool of them to do.
So, whereas I would prefer for her parents to just disappear out of the limelight, I would prefer for people to just leave these kiddos alone. Maybe it will keep them from going the same route.
I would normally agree except that they make everyone else’s reproductive decisions their business. You can’t constantly throw stones at people & then ask them to not throw them back.
Well she has been acting like a mother for years so I can understanding wanting to take a break.
I agree, she has raised her Parent’s children, probably wants to be free of diapers and drooling for awhile and enjoy her freedom. Do the things people her age do.
That’s exactly what I was going to say! Good for her, whatever she decides, but I like her all the more for blazing her own path instead of towing the family line.
I figured the whole adoption thing was to distract from the fact they aren’t pregnant yet.
I don’t really care why she isn’t preg though, if anything it is a good thing–but I know they have to constantly defend all of their crazy rules (like all the hubub when they wore snow pants this week)
yeah, I’ve got the funny feeling we’ll see a “Surprise baby!” cover in a few weeks.
Good for her if any of this is actually true. Now it would even be better if she took some higher ed. classes as well. She has been mothering children her whole life and who can blame her for wanting to be an adult and finding out what how she wants to live by her rules and NOT Jim Bob’s rules.
I love how Star Magazine finds out “secrets” that people keep from their families, especially this sort. Do they have a source in her medicine cabinet or something?
I do hope it’s true though. It would be nice to think a Duggar girl may have at least a little bit of a mind of her own.
I find it tough to believe that she’s on the Pill. My impression of the Duggars has always been that they are very up in each other’s business and that secrets don’t really exist among them (or if they do, they come out fast). I also don’t know if a Duggar girl could see a OB/GYN without inciting a media firestorm.
My money is on them using NFP. NFP is well-known in the Quiverfull movement, but for its abilities to enhance conception. Jessa is probably using it in the opposite way – to prevent. And who could blame her? They are so young. They have so much left to do. Frankly, if she is taking charge of her fertility, good on her. I really see no downside to this.
She could always go to a clinic in another town and get the pill there (I doubt Ben could figure out how to use a condom, even with instructions and illustrations). But considering that both her and Ben’s families are so extremist in their views against birth control, they probably are using NFP.
I kind of doubt she’d go on the pill. Natural family planning, yes. But not an actual BCP. I imagine she was raised to think only ‘bad girls’ used artificial birth control.
I have no idea why People gives this family so many covers. Is their fan base that large? Marriage advice from children who’ve been married a few months? I really abhor the Duggars and any media coverage that portrays their values and lifestyle as normal or quaint. The hatred these people spew and their normalizing the oppression of women make them pure evil to me.
I love you.
I love you too, GNAT! You are always so thoughtful and display values that I subscribe to as well. You are wonderful!
Good for her if it’s true. I would love to see all of the children live their own lives and not have their every move dictated by that huge headed moron of a father. Have you ever noticed how a lot of people, especially men, in religious cults have really big heads? Just thought I’d be the one to point it out.
I prefer to call the big-headed leader of the Duggar cult Jim-Boob. Seems fitting.
Edit: Or maybe that’s an insult to boobs?
It is an insult to boobs. Boobs are great- warm, comforting & giving food to babies (sometimes). Jim Bob is just an ass.
I speculated about this yesterday — I knew something was up with the lack of baby and she always seemed like she would use marriage as her get out of jail card, which is smart. Freedom has been good for her, apparently.
Condoms…
Ugh stop giving these bible thumping lunatics attention !
+1. I was raised in a super super Catholic family and even my mother is like ‘cool it weirdos’.
I never understood why Jim Bob and Michelle took that first miscarriage as a sign from God to stop using birth control, but they didn’t take a premature birth and another miscarriage as a sign to stop having children. I really hope she doesn’t get pregnant again, even though I don’t agree with their lifestyle I’d hate to see those kids lose their mother. Hopefully she can focus on raising the children she has instead of passing the responsibility on the older girls.
As for Jessa, I’m still shocked she got married and took the traditional route, surprised she’s not knocked up yet, maybe there’s hope for her afterall. I also think she’s so gorgeous and could have a modeling career if she wanted.
I had the same confusion, why didn’t they take a miscarriage and premature birth as a ‘sign’ to ‘slow down’ or ‘stop’ trying to have more children? I hope Michelle doesn’t get pregnant again either, it was very concerning to see what happened with little Josie. And it seemed like Josie (do I have the right name? ha) had health problems for quite a long time.
Yes, good for Jessa! They are both so young and have plenty of time. I just hope if this is true, that if Jim Bob, Michelle and older sister Jill hear about this, don’t pressure them to start having kids.
And maybe Jessa can blaze the trail for other women in this religion to wait until they’re ready to start a family too!
Add me to the list of confused people. Anna (Josh’s wife) also had a miscarriage, and they couldn’t blame that on birth control. And both Kelly Jo Bates and her daughter Erin have had several miscarriages each, neither one of whom was using birth control. I think JIm Bom and Michelle just used that first miscarriage as an excuse to not take control or responsibility for enjoying a healthy sex life. Because they believe the only purpose for sex is to have babies, and not just for fun, they can go at it like rabbits and justify it as “we’re really trying to get pregnant!”
Because fundies are hypocrites. They say their fertility is god’s will but if they don’t naturally conceive by regularly having sex they’ll do everything they can to ensure they do get pregnant. It’s only a sign from god if it goes along with what they want to believe. Kelly Bates didn’t see it as a sign from god to stop breeding when she almost died multiple times because of pregnancy/childbirth either.
Their justification, thin as it is, is ‘god says be fruitful and multiply and so we have to do that’. The real reason is that it’s big fucking pissing match between families as to who can pop out the most arrows for jesus,
Goodnight- +1. You can’t rationalize their thinking because they are not rational but they have no issue being very judgmental of all others. The only intolerance I have is for intolerant people.
I had to re-read that last line on the cover. At first I thought it said “date nights and FIST fights”, lol! I’m sure that after raising from birth her four or five “buddies” and cooking/cleaning/packing for the family most of her life, she is more than happy to just be a young married person without all the responsibilities of a family. Jill couldn’t be married two seconds and just enjoy getting to know her husband before falling pregnanat.
Good for her for being her own person, and making her own rules for her life with her husband. Parents can only guide and raise their children in the way they want them to behave as adults, but once they’re no longer living under your roof and on their own, it’s up to them to decide how to live their lives. Hopefully they’ll take along most of what you taught them, but you can’t make your adult kids do everything the way you want them to!
Sharon Lea says:
February 19, 2015 at 11:36 am
I had the same confusion, why didn’t they take a miscarriage and premature birth as a ‘sign’ to ‘slow down’ or ‘stop’ trying to have more children?
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Because these people see what they want to see and justify it so it fits with what they want. Therefore birth control is evil and a miscarriage is a sign from God to keep having kids, but Josie being born premature and losing Jubilee is not a sign from God to stop having kids. It makes no sense. They talk about “letting God decide” about having more kids, but if they have let God decide without modern medical intervention in the case of Josie, she would not be here today. So they don’t leave it up to God to save a premature baby. Not to mention the fact that it’s dangerous for Michelle to have more for her and the baby at this point, but they are still hoping for more. Where’s the responsibility and common sense? They can’t possibly spend enough one on one time with each of their kids and they don’t worry about Michelle dying in a future birth and leaving them all motherless. Then there’s the fact that they don’t encourage higher education or science…the very things that saved their daughter’s life!!!! I’m sick of their fans saying how they have such great values and that everyone should live like they do…yeah, we’d have no doctors or scientists, or anything requiring an accredited degree or diploma if everyone lived like them. Plus I think it’s irresponible for them to not prepare their kids to live in the real world and have the education and knowledge they need to succeed. They deny their kids, especially their daughters, the opportunity to pursue their own dreams and careers because only motherhood and being a helpmate to the man (head of the house) is approved of. They don’t even like the man to work away from the home. From what I heard, Gil Bates (the patriarch of their friends The Bates family) left a lucrative career in the profession world when he adopted the IBLP way of life. Sorry to go on such a long rant but it drives me crazy that so many think the Duggars are such great parents and role models when they do everything they can to restrict and suppress their kids’ knowledge rather than trying to provide them with every opportunity to succeed and find their true passions.
Re the idea of Jessa being on birth control…I very much doubt it. I think it would be great if they did decide to do this together and not tell anyone, but from what I’ve seen and heard, both Ben and Jessa have been very vocal and rigid about their views on birth control and how they don’t agree with it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already pregnant, just waiting to announce it.
Oh, for heaven’s sake, they haven’t been married long enough to proffer advice. That advice comes from Jim-Bob.
The world is over populated and population growth desperately needs to slow. However, I do think the way is through birth-control, birth control, birth control and Education. Not shaming Children that are already here of course.
I truly believe that it is mainly the religious people that are the problem because they do not understand science. They think that the world can’t become over-populated because God will always swoop in and save the day with magic! We can do whatever we want to the earth and God will rescue us if things get too bad (or at least you know, rescue the Good god-fearing people). That’s why they don’t care about the environment. Plus they think that prayer does something and that they can just pray away starvation and any other ills from over-population. The religious have been praying for the starving for centuries now and guess what? People are still starving! I cannot stand when religious people say they’ll pray for the victims of ‘insert-disaster-here’. Hmm thanks for all the help! How about DOING something. I donate way more than my religious friends do because I know it takes money for charity to get things done. Not prayers for God to magically intervene. This frustrates me so, so much. But go on religious people, continue to pat yourselves on the back for all those super-helpful prayers! They’ve totally solved world hunger, poverty and now we have world peace. Oh we don’t…but..but…the prayers are still doing something! Uh, cause the world would be even worse without the prayers! yeah that’s it! MAKES TOTAL SENSE!
Children are not the problem. Religion is the problem. Remove religions, and people can be educated as to why their actions are harmful and why they should care about the environment. As long as there is religion, the earth and mankind are doomed. I am so saddened that so many people cannot see the light. They continue to believe the lies that they were spoon fed as children. My only hope is that the internet will spread knowledge and encourage critical thinking so that more people will reject these ancient, archaic, harmful belief systems. A pipe dream I know.
I hope she is. It’s about time those girls break free and gain some autonomy.
She’s not ready to be a parent yet, but they’re adopting? That makes no sense!